The man, 23, was trying to take a photo from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue. (Posted Dec. 13th, 2012)
An aspiring comedian and improv actor who was taking pictures from the top of the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue died after falling 22 feet down a smokestack, authorities said.
It took rescue crews four hours to remove Nicholas Wieme, 23, at one point cutting through the steel shaft and wedging boards inside to keep him from falling farther down.
Covered in a white sheet, Wieme was wheeled into an ambulance inside the hotel's basement garage around 5:05 a.m. and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Fire Department and the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Rescue crews responded to the hotel at 505 N. Michigan Ave. around 1:10 a.m. after someone called and reported a person threatening to jump from the roof. Firefighters later learned Wieme had fallen down the smokestack, according to Fire Department spokeswoman Meg Ahlheim.
A "confined space rescue" was called, bringing 30 companies and about 125 firefighters and paramedics to the scene.
They discovered Wieme about 20 feet down a 5-foot wide smokestack, slumped on a ledge before the shaft angled down 42 floors, Ahlheim said. Crews cut into the shaft and used wood boards to block him from falling any farther, she said.
"We had to send members from the top down on ropes to assess his condition. The whole time we’re monitoring the situation for toxic gases," said Special Operations Chief Michael Fox. "We found the best way to get out him was to go about two floors below, and we had to cut the duct work for the chimney, which was made out of steel. And eventually we ended up sliding the victim down into the hole and removing him from the building.
“It turned very precarious because two feet after where we made the hole was a drop that would have went 42 floors to the basement," Fox said. "So it took us a little time to cut the hole in the right spot and shore it up, so when we brought him out, he would not fall into the basement."
Wieme was unconscious when firefighters arrived, according to District Fire Chief Kevin Krasneck, correcting earlier reports from officials that he was initially communicating with his girlfriend by phone.
Wieme began to take pictures and climbed a ladder along the chimney, police said. Moments later, his girlfriend lost sight of him.
Wieme grew up in Pipestone, Minn., a small town near the South Dakota border but recently lived on the North Side. He was an aspiring comedian who posted several of his routines online and worked at iO Chicago, an improv theater.
Wieme's relatives said he also wanted to be a movie director, and had edited and directed several videos. He worked on at least one video with the girlfriend that was posted Wednesday.
His brother, Jamie Wieme, said Nick "began taking up the hobby of stand-up comedy" while at Minnesota State University in Moorhead.
"Nick experienced a good deal of success in this endeavor and followed it to where it led him: Chicago," Jamie Wieme said. "Upon arriving to Chicago, his interest switched from comedy to improv. In this, he found even more success, performing at a number of improv establishments on a regular basis. Those that watched him perform often attested that Nick had a way of unintentionally stealing the show.
"Nick's amazing talents were only topped by fierce love and loyalty to his family and friends," his brother added. "Nick was truly a family man, a phenomenal friend (as literally hundreds would attest to), and would do anything to help anyone. When it came to people, Nick's as good as they come."
Matt Griggs, Wieme’s coach at iO Chicago, described him as the “best in the world in long-form improvisation” who also was a “very skilled filmmaker and storyteller.”
Griggs said he first noticed Wieme when he was affiliated with iO as a student and saw him earn a coveted spot there as a performer.
“He had such a joyousness,” Griggs added, “and you couldn’t help but watch him.”
Kyja Nelson, an associate professor at Minnesota State Moorhead who chaired cinema arts and digital technologies instruction, had Wieme as a student in production classes and said he was “very creative and had a really sharp sense of humor.”
Nelson said Wieme was “just full of life and almost larger than life in a way. Everything he did, he had fun doing it. That’s part of his vibrancy.”
Nick Wieme is survived by his parents, two brothers, a sister-in-law and a niece.
Raymond Vermolen, general manager of the hotel, released a statement saying Intercontinental "holds the safety, comfort and well-being of our guests and employees as our top priority and concern. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the guest at this difficult time. The hotel staff will continue to cooperate fully with authorities in their investigation. All further questions should be directed to the Chicago Police Department."
Peter Nickeas is a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Paul Walsh is a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune
pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas
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